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Church & State

Supreme Court Takes Flag Pledge Case

November2003AU Bulletin

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a federal court decision
barring school-sponsored recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance because of
its religious language.

On Oct. 14, the high court announced that it will hear arguments
in a case involving Michael Newdow, a California public school parent who contends
that the words "under God" in the Pledge render it unsuitable for public schools.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Newdow and in June of 2002
barred public school teachers from leading their students in recitation of
the Pledge. The 9th Circuit said the words "under God," which Congress added
to the Pledge in 1954, made the patriotic ritual unconstitutional for public
school officials to sponsor.

Justice Antonin Scalia recused himself from involvement in the
case, apparently for making a prior conclusion about the dispute. In January,
the Richmond-Times Dispatch reported that at a "Religious Freedom Day"
event in Fredericksburg, Va., Scalia attacked the 9th Circuit's Pledge ruling
as "judicial fiat," and proclaimed that the First Amendment "was once well-understood
not to exclude God from the public forum and from public life."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has filed
briefs with the 9thCircuit and the Supreme Court arguing that the
decision barring public school sponsorship of the Pledge should be upheld.

"This case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to remind all
Americans of the importance of freedom of conscience," said the Rev. Barry
W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "No one should feel coerced
to take part in a religious exercise to express patriotism. A country founded
on religious freedom should not be afraid to recognize that love of God and
love of country are not the same for some people. Requiring a daily religious
loyalty test for school children is simply wrong."

Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow will be argued
in February or March of 2004 and decided by next summer.